My daughter has now started treatment for her benign tumours - "benign" but growing - with the anti-hormone injection Zoladex and is taking Livial orally. I asked before whether anyone had had experience of anti-hormone injections shrinking tumours. At that point I did not know the name of the anti-hormone injection. Has anyone had Zoladex and Livial combination and how did it work for you? Thank you to Isadora for your comments on my last post.

I am a little apprehensive as my Dr asked me to have a CA 125 blood test

last week, because I have symptoms which are a cause for concern. I am praying that I do not have ovarian cancer as this would be a bit hard to take with all that my daughter has been through and is still going through!

2 Replies

I am sorry that you and your daughter are going through a stressful time.It is hard enough to worry about your daughter's diagnosis and treatment without having an added worry about your own health.

Please ring the Ovacome supportline nurses to talk this through if you would prefer to speak with them directly, or if you would like more information or support.

Zoladex (Goserelin) is a man-made form of a hormone that regulates many processes in the body. It is given to lower the amount of sex hormones in the body—oestrogen in women. The lack of oestrogen should then cause the tumours to shrink.

The treatment induces a temporary menopausal state, which your daughter’s doctor would have explained.

Livial is a synthetic steroid medicine, given in tablet form to be taken orally, as hormone replacement therapy (HRT). It mimics the activity of the female sex hormones,oestrogen and progesterone and the androgen testosterone in the body.

It seems that the combination of Zoladex and Livial is being used to regulate and balance the effects of the drug therapy (whilst shrinking the benign tumours).

Please feel free to ring or e-mail us if ou would like more information, advice or support. Take care of yourself.

Thank you for your reply. I am anxious now as two days ago I had some lymph nodes come up on the left side of my neck. I do get ths from time to time, but very mildly. I pressed very lightly on one of them which seems quite big and hard and it crunched!!!! I am not sure when the blood test results will be back with my doctor, made more difficult by the fact that he has gone down to working three days a week now!